Speeding through a maze

Today’s auto world is spinning fast, generating news at a dizzying pace.

I’m so wrapped up in today’s news that it’s difficult to apply the brakes and back up to the time when I first started writing an auto column.

As a writer for the Houston Chronicle Cars & Trucks section for more than 17 years, I’ve witnessed extreme changes in vehicles, consumer demands and the structures of major corporations.

Some automakers that were floundering when I cranked up the column in 1989 are thriving today, and others — seemingly invincible back then — are, today, on the edge of collapse.

Subaru, for instance, which I spotlighted in my first column on the all-new ’89 Legacy, rose from a quiet, humble carmaker to a popular builder of upscale AWD models, including the rally-inspired Impreza WRX STi.

Hyundai — the Korean company that used to hang around for a good laugh — is, today, garnering top kudos from the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study and crashworthiness tests by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety.

Nissan, which once struggled to gain identity after shedding the Datsun name, made a fantastic turnaroundthat will be used as a study for business scholars for decades to come.

On the flip side, the giants — Ford and GM — have suffered woes so severe it seems their existence might be going the way of the dodo bird.

In today’s auto world, companies are battling to stay alive or conquer new turf — being first to the market with key technologies (especially those focusing on fuel efficiency), creating eye-grabbing designs and pumping up performance.

The time is ripe for auto writers and their readers. There are more exciting topics to discuss than in any other time in automotive history.